Chapter 65
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Apprentice Witch
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"Caw, caw."
Three days had passed since I'd become a villainous nuisance crow.
No bloodshed had broken out yet, but the seeds of suspicion were surely starting to sprout bit by bit.
In truth, I hadn't done all that much.
I'd just stolen a few items, that was all.
And surprisingly, the scale of it wasn't even that big.
I'd only swiped a handful of symbolic objects.
Like a wallet that screamed high-status owner at first glance, or a few crystal orbs sitting out in plain sight?
Not out of greed on my part, of course—it was all to let them know a thief was lurking around.
Chasing out all the humans outright wouldn't solve everything.
This ruin was enormous.
Bigger than all of Skarnas Village combined, in fact, and searching the whole place solo would be a real nightmare.
So it made sense to use the humans.
Keep nudging them to explore, then boot them out once things ripened just right and claim the real prizes for myself.
Let them ramp up the competition while secretly checking each other.
Once results started trickling in, the seeds of distrust I'd planted would have them too busy hiding intel from one another to make progress.
That's when the phantom crow strikes again.
Scoop up all three groups' intel, chase off the rest of the humans, and mission accomplished.
Anyone who didn't know better might think, "What kind of fiendish crow is this?" But really, it was for their own good too.
This was Tin Man's ruin, after all.
In other words, the odds were high that the Scarecrow's Tin Woodman was slumbering somewhere here.
Probably tied to the Eternal Night somehow.
Unless you were a special crow like me, exposure to Eternal Night wouldn't do anyone favors.
For humans, turning into undead on the spot wouldn't be off the table.
So that's why I'd clear them out ahead of time and handle the Tin Woodman myself.
How many crows out there had a heart this pure?
People who saw black crows as omens had it all wrong.
"Caw, caw."
"Whoosh..."
I gazed at Swooshie, who'd slimmed down a bit.
The load she'd been carrying lay scattered in a heap.
All the stuff we'd "borrowed" so far.
No—temporarily relocated for a good cause.
And it wasn't a small haul.
With more "donations" incoming, it was time to empty Swooshie's arms once and for all.
That's why I'd built a nest in a tree a ways from the ruins.
A hole dug downward from the top, invisible from below.
Shelter from wind and rain.
And a safe spot for my treasures.
Best of both worlds, right?
...Was "best of both worlds" off-limits now?
Sounded like something me and Moona would get one-shotted over.
Lost in those thoughts, I was preening my feathers in the nest.
While scoping out the humans here, I'd eyed any promising feathers to steal, calculating ahead so I could slot them in smooth if I scored later.
Shadowform and Glow were keepers for now, so no swapping those out anytime soon.
Best to fluidly rotate the slots holding Sturdy Beak and Flexible Bones.
A shame I couldn't Spin anymore, but it wasn't make-or-break.
Peck, peck.
"Hm, wind. Why do you keep poking me?"
Moona shot me a sidelong glare.
No, I was just poking the plump thing right in front of me.
【Skills】
「Mimicry LV10」
【Traits】
「High-Speed Thinking」
「Gourmet」
「Sage」
I checked out the Sage trait.
Disappointingly, no conditions popped up for stealing his traits.
Not that I'd steal them even if I could.
Taking them would obviously strip or weaken what Moona had.
Sure, I'd yoink 'em repeatedly if there was no penalty for him—but until it was certain, no touching a teammate's traits.
Right now, I couldn't even if I wanted to.
"Shu, whoosh?"
Same went for Swooshie.
We shared so many traits already anyway—no real need to steal.
Night was creeping in.
Rest by day, move by night.
That was our basic code.
I spread my wings, prepping a slow descent to the ground.
Tonight, I planned to get bolder with the thefts.
"...This the spot, right?"
Until I heard that human voice.
I yanked my body back into the nest, peeking out with just my head.
"Whoosh."
"Hm."
Swooshie and Moona did the same, heads poked out, staring toward the sound.
Something felt off.
This place was a decent hike from the ruins.
Why come here at this late hour?
Had they tracked the thief crow's lair?
Nah, no way.
Only two people down there.
No one'd try nabbing a thief with just a duo.
So why here, why now?
Breath held, I scanned the newcomers with Crow's Eye.
【Cherry LV7】
【Kiki LV8】
Huh?
I tilted my head, mimicking the vague expression of that three-headed lady from the tales.
What the heck? She looks like a total witch.
Magic proficiency traits and all—definitely a witch.
Outfit screamed witch too, even if it looked kinda shabby.
Witch for sure.
"Apprentice witches, eh."
Apprentice witches?
"Hiding among the crowds, then popping out right now... They're definitely up to something."
A witch had infiltrated.
My job was obvious then.
Channel Gretel's teachings and toss these witches into the bonfire.
"Little wind. Think of them as blank canvases untouched by day or night. Mere apprentices, unbound by either."
Right, apprentices.
Not all witches were bad ones—no need to overreact.
But showing up here? Super suspicious.
Looked like they were plotting something.
"Little wind. I've got a splendid plan."
I dipped my head to Moona's level.
His long beak brushed my ear.
"Shu, whoosh!"
Moona laid out the plan for me.
A brilliant, dashing scheme.
*
Apprentice witches.
Neither night witches nor day witches.
Just folks who'd picked up magic somewhere outside the magic towers, earning the witch label.
These two in front of her did aspire to night witchdom, mind you.
But they weren't out to dye the world evil or anything grand.
They didn't even know what Eternal Night really was.
Their reason for chasing night witch status was simple.
'Do what I say, and I'll hook you up with a recommendation letter special-like. Heard of the big four insurances? Plus, cabins are two-to-a-room. Work a century, and you get black crystal pension every month. Way better than that gloomy tower—think it over.'
Yup, they'd been sweet-talked.
Going solo as a day witch with zero backing? Nah, catching a night witch's eye was the fast track to success.
"You're Cherry?"
"And you're Kiki? I've heard the name."
And so the two recruits met for the first time under night witch orders.
"Oh, my name?"
"Of course! Can I call you sis?"
"Oh my, of course, little sis."
Meeting another apprentice witch? Unexpected.
Cherry and Kiki hit it off fast.
"Sis, why're you still an apprentice? Someone like you could climb day or night easy."
"Me? I just wanna cast freely as an apprentice. Higher ranks mean more rules."
"Whoa, that's so cool!"
"You look ready to climb quick too, sis."
"Hehe, really? Check my magic?"
That's how the apprentice witches' meetup flowed.
Showing off spells, respecting each other—adorable stuff.
"Oh, did you see that? The chaos over there just now?"
"Saw it, yeah. Three days straight of thefts."
"Knew my little sis would get it."
"That's my big sis!"
"Huh?"
"Yes?"
Obviously, these apprentices hadn't done squat.
With burly adventurers and tower mages stomping around, what could apprentices even do?
Just watch and hustle odd jobs.
"Ahem."
"Ahem."
But admitting that felt like it'd make 'em look lame, so they pivoted quick.
"Hey, ever hear of Skarnas Crow?"
"Skarnas Crow? Uh... kinda rings a bell..."
Kiki smirked inwardly.
Time to flex as the senior apprentice (one month ahead).
"There's this village called Skarnas, and a massive crow showed up there."
"A crow? Crows aren't rare."
Cherry's innocent reply.
"True, not rare. But Skarnas' giant crow? That's an omen bird."
"Omen?"
"Yup. Like a spirit thing that's lived decades at least."
Pure Kiki fabrication—no such lore anywhere.
"Sp-spirit!"
"Rumors call it omen or divine beast. Word is, it one-shotted Emerald's holy knight? Maybe?"
"E-Emerald's holy knight?!"
Loving Cherry's reaction, Kiki piled it on.
"And its true power shines at twilight."
"Twilight?"
"Feathers dye twilight hues, and no one's lived to tell of seeing it."
"No way!"
"Plus, it summons twilight itself."
"No way!"
Cherry shuddered.
"Not even the end."
"Not the end?"
"The kicker? Three heads."
"Three heads?!"
"Picture it: twilight feathers, perched above, staring down. An omen with three heads eyeing you."
"Eek!"
Kiki laughed at Cherry's freakout.
Her intel wasn't wrong—perfect for showing off senior apprentice chops.
Thumping her flat chest, awed by her own silver tongue:
"Don't worry. I've got you. Even Skarnas' giant crow's nothing before me."
"Hic... You're amazing, sis!"
Of course, she'd bolt without looking back if it appeared—but whatever.
This wasn't Skarnas.
That's when it hit.
"Caw, caw."
A crow's cry from somewhere.
As Cherry said, crows were common.
So this cry? Nothing special.
But their chat made it nag.
"S-sis..."
Cherry's arm quivered.
Not just scared—something weird.
Tears welled, sweat poured.
Like she'd glimpsed the forbidden.
Kiki turned.
And that instant, she saw it too.
Twilight-dyed feathers.
The colossal omen.
The three-headed crow.
Skarnas' Giant Crow loomed against twilight, silently watching them without a word.